According to the scorecards, it could have been a factor. Through four rounds of the Spike TV-televised fight, which saw Curran (20-5 MMA, 10-2 BMMA) submit Daniel Straus (22-5 MMA, 9-2 BMMA) to reclaim the featherweight title, the fight was tied.

Bellator Director of Communications Anthony Mazzuca tweeted the scorecards. Judge Kevin Caldwell had the bout scored 38-38, David Kinkel had it 39-37 for Straus, and Otto Torriero had it 39-37 for Curran.

Curran won the fight at the 4:46 mark of the final round, and thanks to the strong fifth-round performance, he probably would have won it even if he hadn’t secured the rear-naked choke. However, in such a close fight, Curran, whose eye was bloodied in the second round during a knockdown from Straus, likely suspected a stoppage was his only route to a victory.

Check out the scorecard above, and stay tuned to MMAjunkie for video highlights later tonight.